


After the End

by Storyteller1358



Series: It Happened in the Days of Esther [3]
Category: Megillat Ester | Book of Esther
Genre: Collection: Purimgifts Day 3, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-03-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:21:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22989271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Storyteller1358/pseuds/Storyteller1358
Summary: Two years after the events of the Book of Esther, Esther ponders her legacy
Series: It Happened in the Days of Esther [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1652152
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3
Collections: Purimgifts 2020





	After the End

**Author's Note:**

  * For [citrinesunset](https://archiveofourown.org/users/citrinesunset/gifts).



15th of Adar, 14th year of the Reign of King Achashverosh

The palace was overflowing with people. Although Esther and Mordechai’s letters had only commanded the Jews to celebrate the 14th and 15th of Adar each year, King Achashverosh was never one to miss an opportunity for a celebration. In the same manner as he had the year before, he had ordered two days of exquisite banquets, and had invited Mordechai as well as the rest of the court to join him and his queen Esther in the festivities.

Esther sat by his side, and although the food was incredible, and the atmosphere one of overwhelming joy, she found herself not quite satisfied. When Achashverosh left the crowd to rest, exhausted from the sheer amount of food and wine he had consumed, Esther slipped away from the party as well, and made her way to one of the gardens. It was one of her favorite places in the palace, which some days, still felt like a prison. At least in the gardens she could relax a bit more, and could allow herself to imagine that she was outside, truly free. It was a worthwhile sacrifice to be sure – what was her freedom compared to her life, and the lives of all of her people? Yet, there was still a part of her that rebelled at being trapped inside the palace. Even the King’s most treasured queen was, after all, nothing more than his property. Her predecessor had made that clear enough.

What would they remember of her, she wondered. Would they remember her bravery in facing down the king? Or would they think her foolhardy? Would it be her request for a second day of fighting that would last in the memory of her people, or would they rather hearken to the missives that she and Mordechai had sent – words of peace and truth? Her hand drifted down to her stomach as she turned down another path. It was early yet, but she could feel the swell of the life beginning to grow within her. What life would she give to her child? Would he become a great ruler? Or would he be like his father – a simple man, often drunk whose actions were entirely guided by his closest advisers?

She was startled from her thoughts by the sudden appearance of Shaashgaz in the garden.

“The king requests your presence,” he informed her. She had thought she would have a bit more time before he woke up – he had drunk heavily earlier. Putting her earlier thoughts aside, she turned and followed Shaashgaz back into the palace. Unlike Vashti, she would never refuse the king. She had taken risks enough. The thoughts still lingered in the back of her mind throughout the celebration, and as she retired to bed. There had to be a way to do something.

The next morning, Esther woke with a new resolve. She might be trapped forever in the king’s palace, but there was no reason for her story to be. She could not afford to let her legacy be written by others – too much of her people’s future rode on it. Rising, she gathered her stylus and parchment and settled at the desk by the window. She hovered for a moment, the ink almost drying on the stylus before she began. Then gathering the clarity and confidence with which she had first walked in to Achashverosh room, she began to write…. _It happened in the days of Esther,_ _that is Hadassah, who was Queen of Persia..._


End file.
